50+ Family Friendly Recipes & My White House Call

Italian Cream of Tomato Soup

I don’t often voice my political opinions on social media and very rarely here on The Heritage Cook, but this is something that touches me deeply and I wanted to share it with you. Support for our nation’s military families transcends politics.

As some of you may know, I come from a military family. My father and one brother graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD and another brother completed Naval OCS training. All three had long and distinguished careers in the U.S. Navy, proudly serving our nation. The next generation is following in the family tradition – one of my nephews flew helicopters in Iraq, another is a JAG lawyer currently stationed in Rhode Island, and my nieces are both military wives.

Last week I was honored to be invited to participate in a conference call with White House staff members from the First Lady’s and Dr. Jill Biden’s offices. They gave us a briefing on an announcement being made the following day and took some questions.

It was fascinating to hear these bright and articulate women sharing some of their own challenges as military wives and caretakers, asking questions on behalf of their family members and making suggestions on ways to improve the current support structure. I was humbled at the daily struggles they endure as their husbands and wives serve overseas for months and years at a time and then come home to a life of mental and physical challenges.

Meatloaf Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

On April 11th Michele Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, Rosalind Carter and Elizabeth Dole celebrated the third anniversary of Joining Forces by announcing an expanded commitment to helping military caregivers. Joining Forces is an initiative to help returning military members with employment resources, education programs and support for those suffering with the repercussions of serving in combat. Mrs. Obama was proud to announce new private and public sector pledges to help the country’s military caregivers.

There are over 5.5 million military caregivers in the United States. These caretakers are the hidden and unsung heroes of our nation. Mrs. Obama said, “The burden that these women and men bear for our country is real. And they shouldn’t have to shoulder all of that alone … We’ve got Republicans and Democrats, we’ve got leaders from business and labor and we’re all coming together to show our military families how much we appreciate them”. Dr. Biden said, “… Their loyalty, love, and devotion is truly inspiring.”

Eggs Benedict Casserole from Amy Flanigan of Very Culinary

The goal of Joining Forces and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation is to provide support to all military caregivers through peer-to-peer forums at military bases around the world. The will also develop online tools to help caregivers connect to their peers even when they are unable to leave their homes, as well as legal and financial assistance and 10,000 trained peer caregiving mentors.

The Elizabeth Dole Foundation focuses their energies on supporting our nation’s military caregivers who need help for their own mental, physical and financial challenges while caring for wounded warriors suffering from physical injuries and/or invisible wounds of war. The physical and emotional toll on caretakers can create what is known as “secondary PTSD”. In addition, they are working on solutions for dealing with the challenge of who will provide care when military caregivers no longer can do it themselves.

Mexican Sausage and Cornbread Strata from Lisa Huff of Snappy Gourmet

In an odd twist of fate, a recent meeting of the First Lady and a group of military spouses tasked with caretaking of their spouses was held at Ft. Belvoir in Virginia … the same place where my niece celebrated her marriage to her Marine JAG husband. My niece, her sister and their mother all work together to support their father/husband (my oldest brother) a naval veteran suffering with Parkinson’s Disease. Yes, this story is personal on many levels for me.

One of the hardest things to do is to ask for help. Especially when we are expected to be the “strong one” in a relationship or family. But when we share our frustrations and concerns with others in similar situations we gain support, stress relief, and we may gain ideas for ways to better help and support our loved ones. I encourage all caregivers to open up and ask for help. And the resources here can be a starting point.

When I was thinking of ways that we can help the caregivers we know – military or civilian – one of the traditions I grew up with was to share food with others. We shared food when someone was sick, when new babies arrived, we brought food to funerals and church potlucks. Bringing food to help families was a way of life that is slowly disappearing. I hope that you will look to these recipes the next time you have an occasion to offer help to friends.

Caramel and Chocolate Turtle Bars

I asked some of my food blogging friends for recipes they thought were easy to make ahead and deliver to someone in need and I added some of my favorites that families love. Prepare the recipe and deliver it in a disposable container (or something you don’t need returned) so they don’t have to worry about getting the dishes back to you. If you know someone has food allergies or ingredients they must avoid, make those adjustments as needed.

Desserts and Sweet Treats

NOTE: The recipes that I know have gluten-free options are noted with (GF). Other recipes may also be gluten-free or easily adaptable. If there is no attribution after the recipe title, it is from The Heritage Cook.

Disclaimer: I was not asked to write or share this post nor was I compensated. These thoughts, as always, are my own. The people who contributed links to their recipes do not necessarily share my opinions.

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This site is not intended to provide medical advice. The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. It is the reader’s sole responsibility to determine which foods are appropriate and safe for their family to consume. Always consult your doctor. The author makes no claims regarding the presence of food allergens and disclaims all liability in connection with the use of this site.

Thank you so much Beth for your kind words. You are right, it was a labor of love. Obviously I am passionate about this subject and was thrilled to hear about all that this Administration is doing to help our military families with their challenges. I hope this article makes people think about how they can help the people they know who are caretakers for their loved ones.

This is such a wonderful post – so inspiring the efforts that are being made to support our military families in the difficult challenges they face on behalf of our country every day. Gretchen and I are thrilled to have some of our recipes included in such a special round-up! Thanks so much! 😀

Shelley – thank you and Gretchen so much for letting me use some of your recipes in this post. I love that people are discovering your blog and finding all the wonderful things you write about and share every day! I couldn’t say anything about the post in the call for the round up until the First Lady made it public and I’m honored to be included!

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